Boyne in scramble for new out half
Brian (right) and Eoghan Collins with the Towns Cup – but only one of the brothers will be at Boyne this year.
Wednesday August 25 2010
PROVINCIAL Towns Cup holders Boyne play their first competitive game since successfully defending their crown last April when they host Naas in the Leinster Senior Cup on Saturday (kickoff 3pm).
A second-place finish in last season's Leinster League ensured qualification for this tournament, which coach Craig McGrath will use as preparation for their Division 1 campaign.
But Boyne's bid to top the league this season and secure automatic promotion to the AIL have been dealt a blow, with the news that out half Brian Collins has left the club owing to business commitments.
The 22-year-old from Ardcath, an Irish Colleges international and former AIL player with Clontarf and Old Belvedere, had a pivotal role in Boyne's back-to-back Towns Cup triumphs and will be hard to replace.
'It's a massive blow to lose Brian,' McGrath admitted. 'He was a big part of the team and he leaves a big hole to fill, but we're in the midst of talking to other people and we're not a one-man team.
'Brian has a career opportunity in England and in these times you have to take these opportunities and we wish him well.'
McGrath is only back two weeks from a break in his native New Zealand where, typically, he also did a bit of coaching to 'upskill myself', but pre-season training began in mid-July under the direction of assistant coach Eoghan Collins – brother of Brian – and Robert Doran.
A notable addition to the squad this season, recruited from County Carlow, is winger Mark Buckley – a former top try-scorer in Division 1 of the AIL – while ex-Navan and Clongowes Wood wing forward Leo Nulty will also be at Shamrock Lodge for this campaign.
About seven of last year's Under-19 squad will also be making the step up to adult rugby, among them Graham McQuillan, Bobby Tallon, Graham Smith and Mark Fay, while Richard Jenkinson and Mark Butterly have returned to the club.
Boyne lost 34-0 to Naas, albeit away from home, in the first round of the Leinster Senior Cup last August, but a much closer contest can be expected this time as McGrath takes a different approach to the competition.
'Last time we used it as development in terms of giving young guys who were Under-18 at that stage playing time, and that worked because those lads have come through.
'But this time we're changing our mindset and using the competition as momentum towards the league.'
Going into the Naas game, Boyne have played just two pre-season games, one against Clontarf and then a second one away to Portadown last weekend.
- Marcus
